Plantar Arch Support Shoe

ABSTRACT

A shoe providing support for the plantar arch of a foot is disclosed herein. The shoe includes a belt, guide members, and a dial unit. The belt includes a base end section fixed to an outsole at a position equivalent to a plantar arch of a foot of a user, and a leading end section covering a pair of blades. Both side edges of the belt can be separated from an upper of the shoe along a longitudinal direction of the shoe. The guide members are fixed to the leading end section of the belt, and engage with a wire, which engages the dial unit. The dial unit is used to wind the wire, thereby tightening or loosening the belt, and therefore the shoe to a wearer&#39;s foot, and is fixed to an outer side surface of the upper.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Japanese Patent ApplicantNumber 2017-115852, filed on Jun. 13, 2017, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a shoe with a wire fastening structurefor attaching an upper portion of the shoe to a wearer's foot.

Description of the Related Art

In the tongueless footwear described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2015-519949, shoe lateral sections and a canopy are provided withrespective anchor sections, and a cord section is engaged with theseanchor sections. Additionally, the cord section is connected to a cordtensioner, and the cord section is tensed by the cord tensioner tofasten the canopy to a foot of a user.

The prior art structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2015-519949 does not, however, provide support for the plantar arch ofthe foot. This prior art structure shows that the front edge of the shoein the canopy is fixed, and therefore even when the canopy is fastened,the plantar arch cannot be moved upward or secured. Therefore, there isa need for an improved shoe design that provides support for the plantararch of the wearer's foot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A shoe according to the present invention has a belt-shaped belt, aguide member, and a dial unit. The belt includes a base end sectionfixed to an outsole at a position equivalent to a plantar arch of a footof a user, and a leading end section covering a pair of blades.Additionally, both side edges of the belt in a longitudinal direction ofthe shoe is capable of being separated from the upper. The guide memberis fixed to the leading end section of the belt, and engages with awire. The dial unit is used to wind the wire, and is fixed to an outerside surface of the upper.

According to the present invention, the wire is wound by the dial unit,so that the leading end section of the belt can be pulled toward theouter side surface of the upper, and the belt can be fastened to thefoot of the user wearing the shoe. In this structure, the base endsection of the belt is fixed to the outsole at the position equivalentto the plantar arch, and both side edges of the belt in the longitudinaldirection of the shoe are not fixed to the upper, so when the belt isfastened, the base end section of the belt and the fixing portion of theoutsole can be efficiently pulled toward an upper part of the shoe.Consequently, it is possible to easily push the plantar arch of the footof the user upward. When the belt is thereby fastened to the foot of theuser, the plantar arch is supported.

A pair of openings for drawing out the wire can be provided in the dialunit. The pair of openings face the guide member in the direction offastening of the belt with winding of the wire. Thus, the dial unit isdisposed so that force at the time of winding the wire easily acts onthe guide member, and the belt is easily fastened.

In addition to the guide member fixed to the leading end section of thebelt, the guide member that engages with the wire can be fixed to theouter side surface of the upper. Consequently, the entirety of the beltis easily fastened to the foot of the user by using the guide memberfixed to the leading end section of the belt and the guide member fixedto the outer side surface of the upper.

As described above, both side edges of the belt in the longitudinaldirection of the shoe are not fixed to the upper, so the leading endsection of the belt has the ability to slide between the pair of blades.A holding member also may be provided to create a clearance between thepair of blades and prevent the leading end section of the belt frombecoming interposed between the blades.

The width of the base end section of the belt in the longitudinaldirection of the shoe can be expanded toward the outsole. Additionally,the belt can be disposed such that the both side edges of the belt inthe longitudinal direction of the shoe extend toward a rear part of theshoe as both side edges approach the outsole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a shoe according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the outer side of the shoe according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the inner side of the shoe according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a pair of blades and aholding member along lines 4-4 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a shoe according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the outer side of the shoe according to thesecond embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of the inner side of the shoe according to thesecond embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A shoe according to a first, preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the shoe ofthis embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view of the shoe as viewed from thedirection of an arrow D1 illustrated in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sideview of the shoe as viewed from the direction of an arrow D2 illustratedin FIG. 1. The shoe 1 has an outsole 10, an upper 20, and a belt 30. Aninsole (not illustrated) is disposed on a bottom surface of the insideof the shoe 1. The shape of a bottom surface of the outsole 10, whichcontacts the ground, can be determined by a person skilled in the art.For example, the bottom surface of the outsole 10 may be irregular.

The belt 30 fastens a foot, and particularly the instep, of a wearer ofthe shoe 1. The belt 30 covers an area (an inner side surface and anupper surface) of a part of the upper 20. In particular, the belt 30covers an area equivalent to an area from the plantar arch to the instepof the foot of the user. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a base end section 31of the belt 30 is fixed to the outsole 10 at a position equivalent tothe plantar arch of the foot of the user. The belt 30 can be fixed tothe outsole 10 by any means known in the art, such as bonding or sewing.The belt 30 extends from the base end section 31 toward an upper sectionof the shoe 1, and a leading end section 32 of the belt 30 is disposedat a position equivalent to the instep of the foot of the user.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the width of the base end section 31 in thelongitudinal direction of the shoe 1 expands toward the outsole 10. Inthis embodiment, the belt 30 has both side edges (a rear edge 33 and afront edge 34) in the longitudinal direction of the shoe 1. In the sidesurface of the shoe 1 illustrated in FIG. 3, the rear edge 33 of thebelt 30 located at the rear part of the shoe 1 is curved from theleading end section 32 of the belt 30 to a rear part of the shoe 1.Additionally, in the side surface of the shoe 1 illustrated in FIG. 3,the front edge 34 of the belt 30 located at a front part of the shoe 1is curved, and extends from the leading end section 32 of the belt 30toward the rear part of the shoe 1, and thereafter extends toward thefront part of the shoe 1.

The base end section 31 of the belt 30 is fixed to the outsole 10, butthe rear edge 33 and the front edge 34 of the belt 30 are not fixed tothe upper 20. Therefore, the belt 30 can be moved in the direction awayfrom the upper 20 with the base end section 31 as a fulcrum.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the belt 30 is disposed behind an areaR corresponding to a ball joint section of a big toe of the foot of theuser, so that the belt 30 does not overlap with the area R. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the belt 30 is also disposed behind a bendingline L of a front part of the upper 20. The bending line L is equivalentto a line connecting the ball joint section of the big toe and a balljoint section of a little toe when the foot of the user is inserted intothe shoe 1.

The leading end section 32 of the belt 30 covers a pair of blades 21 anda part of a tongue 22 in the shoe 1. The tongue 22 is disposed so as toclose a clearance formed between the pair of blades 21, and a portion,particularly the upper end, of the tongue 22 is exposed to the outsideof the shoe 1. Although the tongue 22 is provided in this embodiment,the tongue 22 can be omitted in an alternative embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 (in which the tongue 22 is omitted), a holdingmember 25 is fixed to the pair of blades 21 between the tongue 22 andthe leading end section 32 of the belt 30. FIG. 4 illustrates a statewhere the leading end section 32 of the belt 30 is moved in thedirection away from the blades 21, and the blades 21 are exposed. Theholding member 25 creates a space between the pair of blades 21 by beingfixed to the pair of blades 21. In other words, the holding member 25prevents the pair of blades 21 from moving away from each other in thedirections illustrated by the arrows shown in FIG. 4. The holding member25 and blades 21 can be fixed to one another by any means, such asbonding or sewing. The holding member 25 needs only to be fixed to thepair of blades 21, and a shape of the holding member 25 can be suitablydetermined as long as this function is satisfied. Although the holdingmember 25 is provided in this embodiment, the holding member 25 can beomitted from an alternative embodiment.

A plurality of first guide members 41 a, 41 b, 41 c are fixed to anouter surface of the leading end section 32 of the belt 30. The firstguide members 41 a, 41 b, 41 c are arranged in the longitudinaldirection L of the shoe 1, and a wire 50 engages with the first guidemembers 41 a, 41 b, 41 c. The position at which each of the first guidemembers 41 a, 41 b, 41 c is fixed in the leading end section 32 can besuitably determined by a person skilled in the art. As illustrated inFIG. 1, the first guide members 41 a, 41 b, 41 c can be disposed at aposition where the tongue 22 is disposed; in other words, at a centralsection along the width dimension W of the shoe 1. While the position ofthe leading end section 32 of the belt 30, and the respective positionsof the first guide members 41 a, 41 b, 41 c are changed in accordancewith the fastening state of the belt 30, the first guide members 41 a,41 b, 41 c can be disposed at the above respective positions in a statewhere the belt 30 is not fastened.

In addition to the plurality of first guide members 41 a, 41 b, 41 c, aplurality of second guide members 42 a, 42 b, and a dial unit 60 arefixed to an outer side surface 23 of the upper 20. One of the secondguide members 42 a faces the middle first guide member 41 b in thefastening direction of the belt 30, while the other of the second guidemembers 42 b faces the front-most guide member 41 c in the fasteningdirection of the belt 30. The wire 50 engages with the second guidemembers 42 a, 42 b.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the dial unit 60 is disposed at a centralsection in the longitudinal direction L of the shoe 1, and is disposedat such a position as to face the rearward-most first guide member 41 ain the fastening direction of the belt 30. The dial unit 60 has a pairof openings 61, 62 for drawing out the wire 50. The openings 61, 62 facethe rearward-most first guide member 41 a.

The portion of the wire 50 extending from the first opening 61 engageswith the rearward-most first guide member 41 a, and thereafter engageswith the rearward-most second guide member 42 a, and then theforward-most first guide member 41 c, in that order. The portion of thewire 50 extending from the second opening 62 engages with the centralfirst guide member 41 b, and thereafter engages with the forward-mostsecond guide member 42 b. In this embodiment, the portions of the wire50 extending from the first and second openings 61, 62 are connected toone another.

A winding mechanism (not illustrated) that winds and draws out the wire50 is disposed within the dial unit 60, and the wire 50 is fixed to thiswinding mechanism. A known mechanism, such as the one disclosed inJapanese Patent No. 5925949 or the like, can be suitably employed forthe winding mechanism. In this embodiment, when a dial 63 of the dialunit 60 is rotated in the predetermined direction, the winding mechanismwinds the wire 50. When the dial 63 is pushed in the rotation axisdirection Ra, the winding mechanism is released, and the wire 50 can bedrawn out from the first and second openings 61, 62.

The belt 30 fastening operation proceeds as follows. When the dial 63 ofthe dial unit 60 is rotated in the predetermined direction, the windingmechanism winds the wire 50, so that a part of the wire 50 pulled intothe dial unit 60. Consequently, the rearward-most first guide member 41a is pulled by the wire 50 so that it approaches the dial unit 60, andthe first guide members 41 b, 41 c are pulled by the wire 50 towardssecond guide members 42 a, 42 b. As a result, the leading end section 32of the belt 30 is pulled toward the outer side surface 23 of the upper20, so that the belt 30 can be fastened to the instep of the foot of thewearer.

The belt 30 has a predetermined width in the longitudinal direction L ofthe shoe 1, and therefore the instep of the foot of the user can befastened within a range of this width. Additionally, fastening force tothe instep of the foot is generated over the whole width of the belt 30,and therefore fastening force that acts on the instep of the foot fromthe belt 30 can be equalized.

On the other hand, when the dial 63 is pushed in the rotation axisdirection Ra, the winding mechanism draws out the wire 50 to increasethe length of the wire 50 drawn out to an outer section of the dial unit60, and the leading end section 32 of the belt 30 can be moved in thedirection away from the outer side surface 23 of the upper 20. As aresult, it is possible to loosen the fastening of the belt 30 to theinstep of the foot.

In this embodiment, the openings 61, 62 of the dial unit 60 face therearward-most first guide member 41 a in the fastening direction of thebelt 30. Therefore, force at the time of winding the wire 50 easily actson the rearward-most first guide member 41 a by the operation of thedial 63, and the belt 30 is easily fastened to the foot of the user.Additionally, when the wire 50 is drawn out from the dial unit 60, therearward-most first guide member 41 a is easily moved in the directionaway from the dial unit 60, and the fastening of the belt 30 to the footof the user is easily loosened.

The base end section 31 of the belt 30 is fixed to the outsole 10, andtherefore when the leading end section 32 of the belt 30 is moved to theouter side surface 23 of the upper 20, and the belt 30 is fastened tothe foot of the user, a fixing portion of the belt 30 and the outsole 10is pulled towards an upper part of the shoe 1 to be deformed. The fixingportion of the belt 30 and the outsole 10 is located at a positionequivalent to the plantar arch of the foot of the user, and thereforethe fixing portion of the belt 30 and the outsole 10 is deformed towardthe upper part of the shoe 1, so that the plantar arch of the foot ofthe user can be pushed upward. Therefore, when the belt 30 is fastenedto the foot of the user, it provides support for the plantar arch.

The pressure P applied to the plantar arch of a wearer's foot by anordinary lace shoe and the shoe 1 of this embodiment was measured. Theordinary lace shoe did not have the belt 30 described in thisembodiment, and instead had a pair of blades 21 through which a lacepassed. In the ordinary lace shoe, the pressure P when the lace wasfastened was 85 [hPa]. On the other hand, in the shoe 1 of thisembodiment, the pressure P when the belt 30 was fastened was 101 [hPa].Thus, according to this embodiment, and compared to the ordinary laceshoe, the pressure P applied to the plantar arch of the foot can beincreased, and the plantar arch is better supported.

Another benefit of the present invention is the spacing of the belt withrespect to the bending line L of the upper 20. In particular, the belt30 is disposed in the rear part of the shoe 1 behind the bending line L,and therefore a box toe 24 (the front part of the shoe 1 with respect tothe bending line L) of the upper 20 is not fastened by the belt 30. Awearer's toes are housed within the box toe 24; because the box toe 24is not fastened by the belt 30, the wearer's toes also are not alsofastened. Consequently, the toes can easily move inside the box toe 24,allowing for smoother (and more comfortable) walking. Additionally, whenthe shoe 1 is used as a golf shoe, the toe can be expanded inside thebox toe 24 and firmly held on the ground, thereby suppressing deviationof the axis of a wearer's body during a swing.

In this embodiment, the holding member 25 is fixed to the pair of blades21, and therefore the leading end section 32 of the belt 30 can beprevented from entering clearances between the blades 21 and the tongue22. In a case where the holding member 25 is not provided, when the belt30 is in the process of being fastened, the leading end section 32 ofthe belt 30 may enter the clearances between the blades 21 and thetongue 22. When the leading end section 32 enters the clearances betweenthe blades 21 and the tongue 22, the belt 30 cannot be fastened, andtherefore the leading end section 32 needs to be removed from the spacebetween the blades 21 and the tongue 22. The holding member 25 isprovided as in this embodiment so that it will not be necessary toremove of the leading end section 32 from the space between the blades21 and the tongue 22.

A shoe according to a second embodiment of the present invention isshown in FIGS. 5-7. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the shoe of thisembodiment, FIG. 6 is a side view of the shoe as viewed from an arrow D3illustrated in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the shoe as viewedfrom an arrow D4 illustrated in FIG. 5. This embodiment has many of thesame features as the first embodiment. For example, as with the firstembodiment, a base end section 31 of a belt 30 is fixed to an outsole10. As seen from FIG. 7, the base end section 31 of the belt 30 iscovered by a decorative material forming a long wing tip of an upper 20.

While the first embodiment has three first guide members 41 a, 41 b, 41c fixed to the leading end section 32 of the belt 30, the secondembodiment has only two first guide members 41 a, 41 b fixed to aleading end section 32 of the belt 30. In other embodiments, the numberof first guide members are fixed to the leading end section 32 of thebelt 30 may be one, or may be four or more.

While two second guide members 42 a, 42 b are fixed to the outer sidesurface 23 of the upper 20 in the first embodiment, only one secondguide member 42 a is fixed to an outer side surface 23 of the upper 20in the second embodiment. In other embodiments, the second guide member42 a may be omitted entirely, or three or more second guide members maybe fixed to the outer side surface 23.

The second embodiment also comprises a dial unit 60 fixed to the outerside surface 23 of the upper 20. A wire 50 drawn out from openings 61,62 of the dial unit 60 engages with the first and second guide members41 a, 41 b, 42 a. A front edge 34 of the belt 30 is composed of a firstfront edge 34 a and a second front edge 34 b. As illustrated in FIG. 5,the first front edge 34 a extends in the width W direction of the shoe1. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the second front edge 34 b extends toward arear part of the shoe 1 from the first front edge 34 a.

The second provides benefits similar to those of the first embodiment.When pressure P applied to a plantar arch of a wearer's foot from anordinary lace shoe and the shoe 1 of the second embodiment was measured,it was found that the ordinary lace shoe applied a pressure P of [hPa],while the shoe 1 of the second embodiment applied a pressure P of 107[hPa] when the belt 30 was fastened. Thus, according to this embodiment,and compared with the ordinary lace shoe, the pressure P applied to theplantar arch of the foot can be increased, and the plantar arch isbetter supported.

From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinentart will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention andwill readily understand that while the present invention has beendescribed in association with a preferred embodiment thereof, and otherembodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, numerous changes,modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which isintended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in thefollowing appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments of the inventionin which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined inthe following appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A shoe comprising: an outsole comprising a plantar archportion; an upper affixed to the outsole, the upper comprising first andsecond blades, an outer side surface, a toe box, and a bending line; abelt comprising a base end section fixed to the plantar arch portion anda leading end section extending over at least a portion of the upper tocover the pair of blades; at least one first guide member fixed to theleading end section; a wire; and a dial unit comprising first and secondopenings facing the leading end section, the dial unit fixed to theouter side surface, wherein the wire extends through the at least oneguide member and into each of the first and second openings, wherein theleading end section is not directly fixed to the upper, and wherein thedial unit can be adjusted to tighten or loosen the wire.
 2. The shoe ofclaim 1, wherein the belt is entirely disposed behind the bending line.3. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the belt covers an area of the upperequivalent to an area from the plantar arch portion to an instep.
 4. Theshoe of claim 1, wherein the belt comprises a rear edge and a frontedge, wherein at least one of the rear edge and the front edge iscurved.
 5. The shoe of claim 4, wherein a width of the base end sectionof the belt expands toward the outsole.
 6. The shoe of claim 4, whereinneither the rear edge nor the front edge is fixed to the upper.
 7. Theshoe of claim 1, wherein the front edge is composed of a first frontedge extending along a width of the shoe and a second front edgeextending toward a rear portion of the shoe from the first front edge.8. The shoe of claim 1, further comprising a holding member disposedbetween the first and second blades, wherein the holding member createsa clearance between the first and second blades.
 9. The shoe of claim 8,wherein the holding member is fixed to each of the first and secondblades.
 10. The shoe of claim 1, further comprising at least one secondguide member fixed to the outer side surface, wherein the wire furtherextends through the at least one second guide member.
 11. The shoe ofclaim 10, wherein the at least one first guide member comprises front,central, and rear first guide members, wherein the at least one secondguide member comprises front and rear second guide members, wherein thefront first guide member faces the front second guide member, whereinthe central first guide member faces the rear second guide member, andwherein the rear first guide member faces the dial unit.
 12. The shoe ofclaim 10, wherein the at least one first guide member comprises frontand rear first guide members, wherein the at least one second guidemember comprises a front second guide member, wherein the front firstguide member faces the front second guide member, and wherein the rearfirst guide member faces the dial unit.
 13. The shoe of claim 1, whereintightening the wire pulls the leading end section towards the outer sidesection and thereby increases pressure placed on a plantar arch of awearer's foot, and wherein loosening the wire decreases pressure placedon the plantar arch of a wearer's foot.
 14. The shoe of claim 1, furthercomprising a tongue disposed proximate the first and second blades. 15.The shoe of claim 1, wherein the base end section is covered with adecorative material.
 16. A golf shoe comprising: an outsole comprising aplantar arch portion and an irregular bottom surface; an upper affixedto the outsole, the upper comprising first and second blades, an outerside surface, a toe box, and a bending line; a belt comprising a baseend section fixed to the plantar arch portion and a leading end sectionextending over at least a portion of the upper to cover the pair ofblades; a plurality of first guide members fixed to the leading endsection; at least one second guide member fixed to the outer sidesurface; a holding member disposed between the first and second blades;a wire; and a dial unit comprising first and second openings facing theleading end section, the dial unit fixed to the outer side surface,wherein the wire extends through each of the plurality of first guidemembers and the at least one second guide member and into each of thefirst and second openings, wherein the holding member creates aclearance between the first and second blades, wherein the leading endsection is not directly fixed to the upper, wherein the belt is entirelydisposed behind the bending line, and wherein the dial unit can beadjusted to tighten or loosen the wire.
 17. The golf shoe of claim 16,wherein the holding member is fixed to each of the first and secondblades.
 18. The golf shoe of claim 16, further comprising a tongue,wherein the holding member is disposed between the tongue and theleading end section.
 19. The golf shoe of claim 16, wherein the beltcovers an area of the upper equivalent to an area from the plantar archportion to an instep.
 20. The golf shoe of claim 16, wherein tighteningthe wire increases pressure placed on a plantar arch of a wearer's foot.